Based in Los Angeles, California.

The Paradox of FOMO

For those of you living under a rock, ‘FOMO’ stands for the fear of missing out. The word itself is rather new but the feeling it represents has been around since the dawn of civilization.

However, this sensation known as FOMO, has recently multiplied at a speed we have never seen before and that is thanks to social media! You know what I’m talking about, people like Dan Bilzerian, posting pictures on IG of their gorgeous yachts, luxurious cars, bikini hotties and whatever else you could possibly dream of.

Oh, The Irony!

You wish you could be there traveling the world and celebrating a carefree lifestyle but you have this thing called a job and responsibilities. Ugh, adulting is so hard especially when you have a serious case of FOMO. But lets not forget the irony in the situation:

You feel like you are missing out but those who are posting their EVERY MOVE, ALL the time are actually missing out on the beauty right in front of them.

If you are lucky enough to do cool things, show some gratitude! The best way to show gratitude is not to post everything on social media but to actually enjoy the moment. It’s ok to get some good pictures in fact, documenting your memories are important! But don’t forget about the significance of the actual moment in front of you. Not everyone can do cool things but the more you over-post the more you over-spread the FOMO. For the people that can’t do all these fun things — you must be wondering is there a cure?

Finding A Cure to FOMO

Great, another thing the CDC cant find a cure for. Wait no, this is not the responsibility of the CDC or any government funded program. This one is up to us and i’ve listed 3 ways to lessen the effects of FOMO in our modern world.

You’re not going to like this one… but you could just stop using social media all together. According to an article by TheGuardian.com, most people that deleted their social media accounts felt a lot happier and more successful within a short amount of time. But don’t worry, thats not your only option.

You can always just unfollow a ton of people and to avoid seeing content that triggers your FOMO on your IG popular page, just click the 3 dots icon and press “stop showing posts like this”. Then you can just follow cute dog accounts, poetry accounts or whatever else you actually want to see. Facebook and Instagram actually have maximized their customization of content and ADs a lot in recent updates. They want you to actually like your news feed and ads even, you just need to provide feedback!

Your third option is to just not give a hoot, but I know that option is harder for some than others.

Final Words About FOMO.

Few would even attempt, but you must question your true motives for doing the things you do. Is it because you really have dreamed of going to Italy or because your friends have all gone? Whether you cautiously know the answer or not, it is important to think about it. Besides, good old Plato said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”.